Film Analysis: The Wizard of Oz
*Note: for this film, I watched up to 20-30 minutes and then proceeded to obtain the rest of the film's plot details from online sources, due to time constraints.
In this film, regular Kansas farm girl Dorothy alongside her pet dog, Toto are whisked away to the magical land of Oz after both of them are swept up in a twister, and in this new land she meets a plethora of new and eccentric faces, both friendly and unfriendly, with the latter of which including the sinister Wicked Witch of the West.
Scale: The film makes use of scale by doing things such as using Dorothy as a reference figure for different events and settings throughout the movie, as she is the main protagonist in which the movie's point of view resides. Such a scene where scale is utilized is in the sepia-toned opening of the movie, using Dorothy's small size to contrast the wide-open, rural setting of Kansas.
Also concerning the film's scale, I believe that Dorothy and her three companions throughout her journey, the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow, all are featured in group shots multiple times, with them standing side by side with similar height levels in order to show that they share the same goal in mind, as they are all mutually traveling together to see the Wizard of Oz as equals.
This movie's use of Paradox is another intriguing element, as there are many contradictory elements throughout the course of the movie, one such example being Dorothy's achievement of slaying the Wicked Witch of the East by doing absolutely nothing on purpose, then afterwards being exalted by the little people of Munchkinland as a hero. Another paradoxical element lies in the nature of one of Dorothy's friends and companions, the Cowardly Lion, whose name itself seems indicative of an oxymoron, as lions are repeatedly shown throughout history as symbols of courage and strength, traits which this particular lion clearly lacks.
The film's use of Metaphor is interesting, as well, as the film introduces an antagonistic and mean-spirited landowner, Almira Gultch, as a bully towards Dorothy and Toto in the beginning of the movie, lobbing constant and repeated threats at her for something that she didn't even do to begin with, rather, it was the fault of Toto, who didn't know any better. Dorothy and her family show great contempt for her in the aftermath of the aforementioned scene, and later, when Dorothy and Toto later land in Oz, Almira's character is transformed and portrayed as a literal witch, feared by presumably all of Oz, for her cruel and contemptible nature.
